과거진행형

A2 Past continuous 24 / 50

요약

과거진행형(was/were + 동사-ing)은 과거의 어느 순간에 진행 중이던 동작에 씁니다. 흔히 배경이나 장면을 설정하는 역할을 하며, 더 짧고 완료된 사건은 과거시제로 나타냅니다.

과거진행형은 특정 과거 시점에 어떤 동작이 이미 일어나고 있었음을 보여 줍니다 — 이미 시작되었지만 아직 끝나지 않은 것입니다.

다음과 같은 경우에 씁니다:

특정 과거 시점에 진행 중이던 동작을 나타낼 때. At 8 p.m. I was cooking dinner.(8시 전에 시작해서 8시에도 여전히 요리하고 있었습니다.)
더 짧은 과거시제 동작이 끼어드는, 더 긴 배경 동작을 나타낼 때. 짧은 사건 앞에는 when을, 긴 동작 앞에는 while를 씁니다. I was reading when the phone rang. While I was reading, the lights went out.
동시에 일어나는 두 개의 긴 동작을 나타낼 때. She was studying while he was cooking.
이야기 시작 부분에서 장면을 설정할 때. The sun was shining and the birds were singing.

핵심 차이:

시제	문장에서의 역할
과거진행형	진행 중인 더 긴 동작 / 배경
과거시제	더 짧고 완료된 동작 / 주요 사건

상태동사(know, want, like, have = 소유하다, be)는 보통 여기서 진행형을 쓰지 않습니다: I was knowing이 아니라 I knew the answer이라고 합니다. (목록은 현재진행형 참고.)

주어 + was/were + 동사-ing:

주어	was/were	-ing
I / he / she / it	was	working
you / we / they	were	working

부정문 — was/were 뒤에 not를 붙입니다:

원래 형태	축약형
I was not sleeping	I wasn’t sleeping
They were not sleeping	They weren’t sleeping

의문문 — was/were를 주어 앞으로 옮깁니다:

유형	예	짧은 대답
Yes/No	Was she driving?	Yes, she was. / No, she wasn’t.
Wh-	What were you doing?	I was waiting for the bus.

-ing의 철자: make -> making(끝의 e를 뺌), sit -> sitting(끝 자음을 겹쳐 씀), lie -> lying(ie -> y).

English	참고
At midnight we were still dancing.	명확한 과거 시점에 진행 중이던 동작.
I was waiting at the station when the train arrived.	긴 배경 동작 + 짧은 과거시제 사건.
While the kids were sleeping, Dad cooked breakfast.	While + 긴 동작; 그 뒤에 짧은 동작이 이어짐.
Tom was watching TV while Mia was doing her homework.	동시에 일어나는 두 개의 긴 동작.
It was raining hard, and the wind was blowing.	이야기의 장면 설정.
What were you doing at six o’clock yesterday?	Wh- 의문문; 주어 앞에 was/were.
She wasn’t listening, so she missed the news.	부정문: 그 동작이 진행 중이 아니었음.
I cut my finger while I was chopping onions.	과거시제 = 사건; 과거진행형 = 배경.

I was knowing the answer -> I knew the answer — 상태동사는 진행형을 쓰지 않습니다.
When I was cooking, I burn my hand -> When I was cooking, I burnt my hand — 짧고 끝난 사건에는 과거시제가 필요합니다.
We was watching a film -> We were watching a film — you/we/they에는 were를 씁니다.
While I read, the phone rang -> While I was reading, the phone rang — while는 보통 더 길고 진행 중인 동작과 함께 씁니다.
What you were doing? -> What were you doing? — 의문문에서는 was/were를 주어 앞으로 옮깁니다.